Mistaken Identity
by Kimberlea
Summary: Delta is taken from England and placed inside Chicago to find that things are not how she expected the experiment to be. The Abnegation needed her; she needs to find out why and soon. certain people around her expect too much, they seem to see someone else when they look at her. Oh yeah, and spoiler alert: She is Divergent.
1. Down The Rabbit Hole

**So this is a new story for me, I only found out about Divergent a few weeks back and felt compelled to do a fanfiction for it. I know this chapter is a bit lame compared to the book but I just wanted to get my character in so that I can have some fun. **

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Ugh. My head pounded painfully, my vision; blurred beyond comprehension. I must have had one too many last night, I was not even able to piece together where I was. Everything seemed so bright, and from beneath my mascara laden lashes I could only see my reflection in every direction. Weird. My eyes eased shut again to block out the light.

I bravely heaved back my tired eyelids, exposing them to the severe glare of the overhead lights. Surrounded by mirrored walls, I had been laid in what appeared to be a dentist's chair covered in paper which crinkled with my slightest movement. That is funny; I don't have to be at the dentist until February and it's only November, a voice niggled in the back of my mind. A machine beeped along with my heart beat - at a startling speed - and I realised two things: 1) there were wires coming down from my forehead and upon my chest that were connected to the machine and 2) there were more wires coming from the machine going to another. I was not alone.

A guy with jet-black hair expertly styled into a tremendously high Mohawk, wearing only black (even the socks peeling out from the gap between his shoes and jeans) and covered in tattoos and piercings, sat across from me, smiling gently. A tattoo of skull and crossbones on the side of his head caught my eye and despite his expression, I could not help but feel a little concerned as to my being alone with him.

"Delta, I know this will all be very strange to you, but I need you to remain calm." He smiles again, only this time I realise that he was not trying to seem gentle, but sympathetic - pitying even.

"How do you know my name?" I questioned cautiously.

The guy shook his head, "I can't tell you that,"

What could have happened that is so bad that I have to be here with some guy who has not even told me where I am or who he is?

"Who are you and where the hell am I?" I blurt out. Regretting how rude I had become, I gifted him an apologetic grimace.

The stranger with a thousand pieces of metal wedged into his face did something I did not expect: he laughed. "You get to the point quicker than the last one of your lot, I'll give you that." He frowned, "The name's Keith, but I can't give you more information now. Someone else will fill you in."

I looked down dejectedly; it would really help me to 'remain calm' if I knew where exactly I was, I would have asked what was going to happen, but I knew better. He probably could not tell me that either.

He reached behind the machine, producing a tiny glass of some sort of translucent lilac liquid, "Drink this," Keith ordered.

What the hell was this?! Have I somehow wandered into Wonderland? Am I Alice? "Drink me" was even printed on the glass. There is no way this could be real.

Pressing the glass into my hand Keith beamed like the Cheshire cat, "Drink this," He repeated. The reflection Keiths all wore the same grin, and though it was not a malicious expression the effect of so many eyes - reflections or not - bearing down on me was all together sinister. The reflection Deltas looked just as terrified as I felt, I changed my expression to one of determination and defiance; Keith need not know that inside I'm a petrified wreck.

"What will happen if I do drink this?"

I already knew the answer before he had even opened his mouth and shown off his tongue stud, enhanced by his many lip rings, "I can't tell you that," He told me.

Well if this is some kind of Wonderland rip off, I will either grow or shrink. I am only five foot so shrinking could not make things any worse and growing bit might make me a more normal height. What do I have to lose?

Without another thought I drained the glass and closed my eyes. No more time has passed than a second, yet when I lift back my lids I am in a completely different place. There are no walls, but no open spaces either. All is whiteness and, though I can seen no end to this expanse, I feel that there must be a limit; the same limit that is acting as the ground where there is nothing to see but white, not even my own shadow.

Before me, on the 'ground' lay two entirely unconnected objects: a book entitled 'How to Build a Raft' and a long knife.

"Choose," commanded a woman's voice, though I could spot no other person anywhere, even Keith had disappeared.

So I have to choose between the book and the knife? Well that is stupid. The book would be useful if there were anything other than the book and knife - neither of which, I thought, would be very buoyant - that I could use to make a raft with and there was nothing in the landscape to use the knife for. This whole thing was fast becoming frustrating; how could I choose something over something else if I do not know what I am choosing it for?

The voice repeated it's instruction, "Choose,"

"What if I don't?" I demanded cockily, after all this could not be real and therefore it could not have any consequences when I eventually wake up. Could it? Nah, definitely not.

The voice returned, flustered, furious. "Have it your way then."

The scene changed and the bland nothingness transformed into a small island with trees clustered at its centre, surrounded by an ocean. Okay, now I see the necessity of the two objects and yet surely I would have needed the knife to _cut_ trees down to build the raft and the book to know _how_ to build one. "Well the choice sucks, I would have needed both." I muttered hotly to no one in particular, flashbacks of the film Castaway filling my mind. Great and I do not even have a ball I can make into a friend now I am stuck here.

I must have already gone crazy because there is what looks like a man bounding in my direction from the darkness of the trees. A tribal man that is getting larger by the second. A man in a loincloth who had his ears stretched beyond repair. A man with a huge spear. A man with a huge spear heading in my direction.

I really should have chosen, though I am not sure I could have had the raft built in time if I had chosen the book and I am not sure how much good a knife would be against a spear, also I do not think I would feel all that good about hurting someone even if said someone was getting much closer and still waving a spear. My only way of stopping this is to hope that they understand English, maybe I can talk him down before that spear of his becomes acquainted with my innards.

"Dude, chill!" I called. Okay, so perhaps not the most eloquent way of calming down a possible opponent but it did make him falter.

His approach came much more slowly now, as if he were sizing me up, as though he were suddenly cautious of me.

I raised my empty palms in a peaceful gesture, hoping against hope that this would mitigate things further. I was now profoundly glad that I did not have a weapon, this way there was a chance that no one would be injured. Hopefully. The man halted, his footsteps stilled.

Everything dissolved once more, I found myself in a court room, in the stand. A jury glared at me from the left, a crying victim to my right next to the judge. A lawyer - I supposed this was _my_ lawyer - paced back and forth in front of me.

"Miss, do you recognise this man?" The lawyer pointed to the defendant, guess he was not my lawyer after all; this was not my trial, it was his. The defendant leered at me; greying hair spilling over his face and onto his shoulders, empty black eyes penetrating my own blue ones. The thing is I did recognise him, but I could not for the life of me remember where from.

The lawyer snapped his fingers in front of my face, apparently I had zoned out. "Miss this is important." He scolded sternly. "Do you or do you not recognise this man, this man whom stands accused of murder and whose sentence will be death."

Something tells me that this man, though I do know him from somewhere, is not guilty. "He didn't do it," the words spill from my lips without my consent and I know as soon as I hear them that they are true.

Dismissively, the lawyer waves his hand and it is then I piece it together: he does not care about the truth. He just wants a conviction. He wants the destruction of an innocent man. "Do you recognise him? You will share his sentence if you do not comply."

If I say this man is familiar to me, they will put him to death, they will assume him to be guilty, but if I do not tell them it would be a lie.

Then I see it. This is not real. Whatever I say or do here can hurt no one. I can refuse. "He didn't do it." I repeat; my voice steady, my face stern.

I jolt awake, the high-speed machine beeping bringing me back to the mirrored room. Dentist chairs are really uncomfortable; I wondered how long I have been out of it. That was definitely my strangest dream to date.

Keith is eyeing me strangely, what on Earth have I done to deserve that? Clearly he has been doing some sort of tests on me whilst I was under, perhaps a blood test, though I cannot see any signs of that.

"Well," began Keith gruffly, "That wasn't what I expected."

I felt my lips turn downwards at the corners. "Did something go wrong? Is there something wrong with me?" I knew it, I am a freak

Keith patted my arm, having removed the wires. "Not at all," He sighed, "what you just experienced was the aptitude test. To see which faction you belong to."

"Faction?" What kind of drugs is this guy on? Saying that, what kind of drugs am I on?

"Yes, faction. Candor, Abnegation, Erudite, Amity or Dauntless. The test is supposed to tell me which one you have an affinity for." When I did not respond he continued. "Once you know which faction you're suited to you chose the faction you want to join, you can go to any of them regardless of the result."

That explains some things. "Join?"

Keith shrugged, "You go to live with them instead of the faction you were born in, unless you chose to stay in your faction of course."

"But I don't have a faction," I point out. "When do I get to go home?" I was tired of this, all I want to do is go home and see my mum and dad, my dog too. He still has not even told me where I am.

"You don't," Keith gave me that pitying grimace once more, "But that will be explained to you later."

"But-"

"Just listen to me, this is important." I nodded for him to go on. "Your test was inconclusive."

"Inconclusive?"

He bobs his head in confirmation. "Normally people only get an affinity for one faction, which is safe," Keith's expression has shifted, his eyes serious, "but sometimes people get more. That's when things get messy."

I sigh, "So I have an affinity for more than one?" Trust me to get the 'messy' result.

"You are the strangest Divergent I've ever met," under my offended gaze he clarified, "I mean, most people like you have affinities for like two, three at the most, but you - you have an affinity for each faction."

"And that's bad, right?"

Keith leaned in closer, the light catching on every single piercing, "Definitely." His stare unwavering. "It's 'bad' for the people with two. You are in a whole world of danger."

"How did I manage that?" I wondered aloud.

"Well," Keith started. "In brief: if you'd have chosen the knife you would have been put straight down as Dauntless and the book, Erudite, but you didn't chose. You used logic to predict that you would have needed both to actually get off the island, which goes to Erudite; but you showed bravery by not running from the threat of attack, which shows Dauntless traits. You were peaceful towards the savage - that shows Amity affinity. Then you used the fact you knew the truth about the defendant in the court room and told only the truth, even though you avoided the actual question, which only just scrapes you a link to Candor, though it's pretty tenuous. And finally your avoidance of the question to only tell them you knew the defendant to be guilty, even when they said you'd be punished shows selflessness, the Abnegation trait. In short - you have all the desired qualities, but no one wants them all in the same person."

Shit. That sounds a little bit ominous. "What are you going to do to me?" Surely he would not tell me all this just to kill me.

Keith smiled genuinely. "I'm going to help you." He whispered. His fingers began tapping buttons of the machine, "I'm putting you down as Dauntless, you should choose them tomorrow by the way, they'll teach you how to look after yourself and I'll be able to keep an eye on you. Besides they brought you here after all."

"Look after myself?" That did not sound comforting.

"Yes, you will be in more trouble than you can imagine if anyone finds out that you're Divergent, let alone Divergent to the extent that you are." Keith finished a series of complicated codes. "Don't tell anyone any of this; all they need to know is that you have affinity for Dauntless and chose accordingly."

My head was spinning, one thing nagged at the corner of my mind. "Brought me here, what do you mean brought me here?"

"Eric will tell you as soon as you leave this room," Keith's eyes were back on mine, "you cannot tell him any of this."

I bobbed my head. "Of course," This Eric did not seem the kind of person I wanted to be hanging out with; from Keith's tone, Eric was not someone to be crossed.

Keith gave me a couple of minutes to let it all settle in before dismissing me, "They'll be waiting for you." I stood to leave, "See you around kid." He bid, giving me a wink as I opened the door to yet further revelations.


	2. Blood

So this is Eric. He certainly seemed as daunting as Keith's tone had implied. He stood at six foot four, with greasy blond hair that was slicked back. He wore nothing but varying shades of black, from his button down shirt and scruffy jeans to his overly formal dress shoes. His eyebrows, mouth and ears were adorned with many rings and studs and when he smiled the ones around his mouth stretched the skin; revealing gaping holes that made me feel sick. "So this is the new recruit, Delta, eh?" He drawled, sneering his way over my name.

I nodded curtly, though I didn't want to appear rude towards this man who could possibly mean my destruction I really could not bring myself to like him and that was only after mere seconds of meeting him.

"My name is Eric, I'm a Dauntless leader," He informed me proudly, "you'll be staying with us for tonight at least," His green eyes roved over my curves, "perhaps you will deign to join us more permanently once you have seen our headquarters."

"Perhaps," I echoed, keeping my voice neutral.

Before we reached the entrance to Dauntless headquarters, it was decided that I should not actually see any of it. One of Eric's henchmen accompanying us had advised him that I should be blindfolded lest I spill any secrets to another faction if I chose another faction.

Someone, I presume Eric, lead me by the hand through what seemed to be to be a maze, I'm sure he doubled back two or three times just so that if I did try to leave without their knowledge I would never find a way out. After what seems like an age to me we stopped outside a room, he opened the door and finally removed my blindfold.

The room was small and dingy; the only adornment was a cot in one corner.

"You'll be staying here tonight." Eric told me, fiddling with one of his eyebrow bars.

"Why am I here?" I had been getting up the confidence to ask since I first left the aptitude testing room.

Eric simply laughed at me, "Because we needed you."

"For what?" I hissed. I could not be bothered with people not giving me all the information I deserve straight away.

Eric considered me, gauging my reaction; he seemed satisfied that the only emotion visible to him was anger, when inside I was more scared than I've ever been in my life. "Someone from Abnegation wanted you in the city, so we collected you and offered to house you."

I stared hard into his emerald eyes, he hadn't answered my question. "So why do you need me?" I pressed.

"The Stiffs said you would be good for the City, an outsider as you are." Eric answered, picking at his cuticles as though bored. I assumed 'Stiffs' meant the Abnegation, the people who wanted me here, but for what?

"So when do I go home?"

"Never."

I sneered. "I have to go back; you don't understand I had a whole life sorted. I'm on track for a good career, I have fiends, family, everything. I was just starting out. You don't get to take that away from me."

Eric laughed mirthlessly, "You don't and we do, you're home's not there anymore."

I blanched, "What the fuck do you mean?"

Eric almost looked surprised, "Tut, tut, language." He scolded, not that I took any notice. "You're town is no more."

"No more." I whispered, echoing the words that will forever resonate in my mind.

This only seemed to make him mildly annoyed, not that I cared right now. "Yes, to get you here some Dauntless had to blow it up so there'd be no questions."

'Blow it up'? Blow it up! My entire hometown. What the hell did they do to deserve that? What on Earth gives them the right to decide whether an entire town lives or dies for the sake of capturing one out of thousands? Whatever they need me for has killed them. Killed my friends, my family, people whom I would smile at in the street, even some people I had never seen. Everyone close to me and everyone I had met back home, gone. Surely there would have been an easier way to extricate me without losing so many people. It felt as though a pit had opened up inside my stomach, widening with every passing moment, tearing me apart from within. I have just lost everything I know, everyone I know. I have lost a part of myself and I can never get it back. And they took it from me.

Bam. Ouch, my fist hurts. How did that happen? I examined my fist, the knuckles throbbing. Yep, that is definitely going to bruise. Shit. Eric's clutching his jaw in his hands, did I do that? He looks pretty pissed.

Run. I need to run. I need to get out of here. Keith told me it would be dangerous for me here and I've just gone and punched one of the leaders. Fuck. Why the hell did I do that? Well, I guess I could have handled this a lot better. Perhaps I should have just cried, I mean, everyone I know back home has been blown up, I should be crying not punching people.

"Bitch!" Exclaimed Eric.

Holy poop. Now I was in for it. I lunged for the door. I certainly do not expect to find my way out of here, but maybe I could stumble across a clearly marked exit.

That would have been a good plan, if it were not for the body standing just the other side of the door evidently about to enter. Said body happened to belong to an extremely tall, muscular man with bronzed skin, a hooked nose and the most scorching azure eyes I had ever witnessed. He too was dressed in black from head to toe.

"And where were you running off to?" He questioned mockingly, his voice dripping with mirth.

"The little shit fucking punched me!" Eric informed the man.

The stranger smirked, "And why would this little girl feel the need to do such a thing?" He could barely contain his laughter at the thought that someone like me could injure Eric. I almost argued that I could stand up for my self, that I wasn't some 'little girl', but I decided against it; he already knows now that I can throw a decent enough punch, thought that is the extent of my combat skills.

Eric remained silent. I knew I should have done the same, yet my mouth had a habit of misbehaving. "Dickhead here told me what you fuckers did to my home town. Practically gloated. That reason enough for you?" He barely appeared surprised at my colourful language.

The newcomer glanced between me and Eric, who still shook with rage, testing the skin of his jaw and wincing as he found the tender spot that had been my target. "What did you do?" He asked Eric, his tone low and deadly making me strain to repress a shiver.

Eric shrugged. "Does it matter? She can't go back now. Remember your place." He warned the other man. The new guy clearly wasn't another leader. "We did what we had to. No questions."

"You lot fucking blew it up!" I shriek, I'm not normally one for shrieking and making a scene, but when you've lost everything it is not easy to act normally.

The room I was shut in had only a small cot for a bed and a thin blanket accompanied by an anorexic pillow; I take it I'm expected to sleep here for the night. I haven't seen the stranger again since then. Eric told me to shut up, they both left - though both seemed furious with the other - and they locked the door behind them. I do not know what time it is and to be honest I do not care. They're going to keep me here and there is nothing I can do about it; I have no home to return to, no where to run to anymore, no one to run to anymore. I'm in this alone and tomorrow is the day of the Choosing Ceremony, apparently I am to chose one of the five factions as my new home and I have no idea which one would suit me best, the stupid test was no help at all.

They did, however, leave me a pack to help me decide. It included some sort of manifesto for each faction and details of how they live. The Erudite seem completely out of my league, I could barely stay awake I school as it was I don't think I could handle a lifetime of learning. The Candor seem too honest, in fact brutally honest, I'm not sure I would be willing to hurt people for the sake of telling the truth. Amity appears nice and serene, but I highly doubt I would be able to hold my anger in around so many constantly cheery faces. Abnegation would be great if I thought I could live up to their ways of selflessness, also they forbid makeup and having any form of individual style. Then there is the Dauntless, the people that blew up my entire life; they supposedly pride themselves on being brave and protecting the city that I will have to live in which is good, but they appear to have far more destructive power than I would have liked.

How am I supposed to choose in a place where I will never belong? The test administrator even said that I could go in any one, that I had an affinity for each and yet I cannot see myself fitting in anywhere. I barely fitted in at home. What am I going to do?

At first light some grumpy guard type came in, dressed all in black, handed me some clothes and led me to a bathroom. Seriously did no one here wear colour? Here I am in black and white striped skinny jeans a yellow, white and pink splattered tank top and luminous pink Dr Martins. The clothes I had to put on after my shower were too big; I had to roll the black jeans up several times and the black t-shirt looked like it would fit a full-sized man not a five foot girl, it was practically a dress. They had given me a pair of black plimsolls, but they were two sizes too big and so I wore my neon pink Dr Martins instead, they looked better with all the black anyway.

My face l was tired and pale now it was completely free of makeup, but I highly doubted Mr Surly-guard-man would have a spare tube of mascara in his pockets. I would have to brave the world without makeup. Oh, the horror!

Trudging out of the bathroom, my colourful clothes were taken from me; the grumpy guard said they would be taken to my room. I didn't particularly want to go back to that pokey room in which I had spent the previous night, maybe in other factions the hospitality is better. Other than to inform me which direction I was to go in the guard refused to say anything to me. I was given some kind of nutrition bar and led - blindfolded - to a car that waited outside the Dauntless building where I was allowed to remove it. Eric was in the passenger seat, me in the back, the guard was to drive.

A smug look danced across my face as I noticed a deep purple bruise inexpertly covered by makeup gracing Eric's jaw, he could not keep my gaze and so I assumed I would not be forgiven - not that I was about to apologise.

The journey was silent, none of the occupants of the black Vauxhall Vectra were not much inclined to idle chatter and so I was able to observe the scenery with no interruptions. For miles everything was broken. Street lights hung precariously from their scaffolds, pavements were cracked down to the sewers and there were huge chunks of road missing exposing gaping holes in the tarmac. Homeless people littered these areas, eyeing the car with distaste and jealousy, scavenging nearby bins or climbing into long abandoned shops and homes in search of food or simply for something to do.

Eventually we got to the more well-kept centre of the city; the streets were clean and free of the homeless, neat houses stood like sentries guarding the tall towers at the very heart of the city. Colossal buildings of glass rose from the centre, crowding the sky in such a small area and we were headed to the largest. They called it the Hub.

"Get out." Eric ordered once we had reached the building.

I did as I was bid to, I did not want him to be any more frustrated with me than he already was. I had punched him after all. The only way I could have offended him further is if I brought his mother into it I suspected. We followed huge crowds up the stairs within the Hub up twenty flights of stairs - God; I hate stairs - to a gigantic hall with concentric circles of seating. There were people sat in groups each wearing what my pack told me were the colours of their faction: red and yellow for Amity, grey for Abnegation, blue for Erudite, black and white for Candor and - of course - plain black for Dauntless. My boots certainly stuck out like a sore thumb. No one here wore pink, especially such a fluorescent shade as I wore on my feet.

Eric grabbed me by my arm. "You run along with the other kiddies and choose which faction gets stuck with you." He instructed.

I nodded, lining up with the other 'kids' they all looked younger than me, sixteen maybe to my eighteen, is this how people come of age here? Welcome to adulthood, now choose where you want to live. I actually think it could be a good system: take a test to see where you belong, where you're going to have friends who have the same interests, and go live with people who are like-minded. It only falls down when I think that there are others like me, who don't have just one place where they belong.

The other kids stared at me, obviously aware that I wasn't from here, did they only have one school and all know each other? Ugh. They were whispering too, I'm not paranoid, but I think by the end of this I will be. I don't even know how we are supposed to choose.

There were five bowls in the centre of the room, bowls big enough for a small person to curl up in. One was filled with water, for Erudite I guess; one with glass, for Candor; earth for Amity; one held stones that I thought would be for Abnegation and one with lit coals, no doubt for the Dauntless. What am I supposed to do, stand in one? God knows.

The leader of one of the factions, Abnegation judging by his grey attire, began talking, a long prepared speech no doubt, but I heard none of it. I was too focused on the knife he held in his left hand. What business a knife had at a Choosing Ceremony, I did not know, but I suppose I'll find out sooner rather than later. The leader kept babbling on and I could not help but feel like I recognised him; he had piercing blue eyes, the kind of blue that you would never forget, but I could not recall where I had seen such eyes before. It does not matter now though, I'm not here to dwell on things like that; I have a decision to make.

The first child's name was called out by the man with the knife. "Alton, Kylie." She shuffled slowly toward the circle of bowls, wearing a yellow dress, clearly an Amity girl. She took the knife which the leader offered and without hesitation slit her palm, squeezing to bring forth the blood flow, swiftly she threw her arm over the water. A collective sucking in of breaths was the only thing to be heard as her blood caused ripples in the once smooth surface, tainting the water with it's rusty stain. She had gone first and she had transferred. Evidently this was not something usually done by the Amity.

The next child was called, "Appleton, Stephen", a Candor briskly took up the knife, slitting his palm and spilling his blood over the glass. He was staying in his old home. So this is what I have to do; slice my hand open and literally pour my life into a faction.

"Hanley, Delta." All eyes on me. I was not surprised this man knew my name; the Abnegation wanted me here after all. Shakily, I trudged towards the man, I think his name was Marcus or Matthew or Michael or something like that. His eyes followed every movement I made, assessing my calm façade. I could tell he was hoping to see a crack in my calm, but I held his gaze sternly as he handed me the knife. Which do I choose? This is too much I don't belong in this world, each faction has it's good and bad points but I cannot see a way I could slot into any of them.

Candor is not an option because I refuse to be horrible to people just to tell them the truth about themselves as the Candor often do. Erudite is off the table too, as much as I love to learn new things I don't have the obsessive thirst for knowledge that is their trademark. Amity would be great; outdoor living and working, peace. Abnegation could be a good decision, I could spend the rest of my days helping other people instead of being selfish, but would I really be myself there or would I fade into the background, though I guess that is the role of the Abnegation. Dauntless would be a definite 'no no', I was not cut out for taking risks and protecting a city, but Keith's advice stuck in my mind: "you should choose them tomorrow by the way, they'll teach you how to look after yourself and I'll be able to keep an eye on you."

The knife felt oddly light in my hands. Oh God, I hope this is clean. The blade to my palm, I glanced at my distorted reflection in the metal; my face was set, lips in a firm line, eyes steady. The sting cut through my mind as he tip sunk into my skin, I dragged it down in a straight line, slowly, urging the blood forth. The liquid surged from my hand and I made my choice, the only sound in the entire room was that of my blood hissing as it fell upon the Dauntless coals, bubbling with the sudden heat.

Scanning the crowd I found Eric's expression to be exactly the same as when I punched him. His eyes met mine in a vicious attack, _if looks could kill__…_ Forcing myself to turn away, I was ushered to the back of the room where someone would put a temporary bandage on the new wound upon my palm.


	3. Jump

**So, I forgot to mention before that this is all set five years or so after the Factions were dissolved, but something happened. You'll find out about all that much later though. I also decided to include Eric, let's just pretend he didn't die. **

**Sadly I don't own Divergent or any recognisable Divergent things. **

* * *

Once the final sixteen year olds had chosen their faction - Zion, Alyssa, Abnegation, transferred to Erudite - we were divided into our groups and instructed to follow the members of our respective factions. Most of them were escorted to the elevators and made to wait; the representatives of Dauntless thrust us toward the stairs. Ugh. I hate stairs.

The hands against our backs became more insistent. We were made to run. Two things I cannot stand: running and stairs. I am certainly not the fastest runner, yet by some happy accident I was able to keep abreast of the pace set by the older Dauntless. There were woops and wordless yells pervading the air all around me, permeating my ears and ricocheting about my skull. Such free-spirited, mindless noise! I was quite surprised to find my own excited exclamations joining the fray. For the first time in my life I actually enjoyed running, I relished in the feel of my muscles straining and stretching as I pumped my legs as fast as they would carry me.

The boy alongside me, originally from Candor, wheezed and panted the whole way down all twenty flights of stairs, groaning with each step. Unlucky for him we didn't stop there.

"Where…" He puffed, "Where…do you…suppose we're…running…to?"

Between his panting and the surrounding ruckus, I was thoroughly amazed that I could understand him. "No idea," I replied. I did not know anything about this city that there had not been in the pack they gave me, which certainly had not included a map, nor a list of proceedings for what goes on after the Choosing Ceremony.

We had long since left the Hub by the time the pack began to slow and we were coming up to some train tracks. Ah, at last! I will get a good sit down and a rest before we got to our destination wherever that may be. A horn. The train was blooming into my line of sight. And going too fast to be stopping here. As it pulled alongside us it had slowed considerably and we now ran beside it. Up ahead I could see people diving inside the first few cars, obviously having done this before. Hold up. We were expected to _jump _into the cars? Glancing into the car I was struggling to keep up with I saw there were no seats as I had expected, it was entirely empty.

Soon the only people left trying desperately to keep up with the train were those who had transferred into Dauntless and myself. I guess I have something to prove if I want to stay here. Pushing a final spurt of speed, I jumped to grasp the handle on the closest door to me, swinging my right leg to the edge of the train floor. I had not quite anticipated the strength of the breeze and nearly stumbled backwards, my hand almost slipping from the handle, the force of the wind slamming my back into the car door. I cannot do it. I have failed. Not yet, screamed a voice at the back of my head. After a final gasp as I hit the car door I launched myself inside the car so forcefully that I came crashing into one of the Dauntless members.

"First initiate in," She chuckled, "well done." The woman praised. She was very tall, slim and had chin length auburn hair and wearing a black knee-length dress and stiletto heels, how she had managed to leap on board a moving train in those I will never know. "Name's Piper." She told me, extending a hand.

"Delta." I took her hand and shook it firmly. She could have helped to heave me in, I thought sullenly. She had called me an 'initiate', so I'm going through an initiation am I? Or was that it, jumping into the train?

Further 'initiates' were clamouring aboard with varying success. I sat with Piper. Unlike most other Dauntless I had seen, the only piercings she had were one small stud in each ear, she did, however, have a visible tattoo of a lioness above her heart. It fascinated me, such a delicate looking girl having such an aggressive animal inked onto her chest.

"Like it?" She asked suddenly, she had evidently seen me staring.

I nodded. "Why a lion?"

"A lioness," she corrected, "to remind me that women are just as brave and powerful as men. Sometimes even more so." She paused as if considering me. "Did you know that it's the lioness that hunts in a pride?"

I did not. "Really?"

"Yep." She popped the 'p'. "They're considered more dangerous to cross than the males."

"Just like us." I smirked.

Her lips quirked upwards, "Finally someone who gets it. Where you from anyway, don't look very Dauntless-born?"

I shrugged, not really sure how to explain that where I came from did not exist anymore, "A very long way away."

Piper nodded, "So _you__'__re_ the one from outside. I hope you can stick this out." I did not answer; there was nothing to say anyway.

I hope I stick this - whatever _this_ is - out too. I will stick this out. I have to. I need to.

After what seemed like half an hour, I had no watch to keep time, Piper stood. "Time to go."

I hauled myself up to my feet, confused; we seemed to be high above anything, there were tower blocks lower than we were travelling. Were we going to stop? We were slowing considerably… Everything seemed to be going in slow-motion.

Without another word Piper leapt from the car onto a rooftop about three feet from the track. The drop would no doubt be the end of anyone who fell. A couple of the more daring initiates followed her lead. I had two choices: I could literally take a leap of faith or I could stay on the train and fail, who knows what would happen if I failed.

Taking a deep breath and as much of a run up as I could muster in such small a space, I launched myself from the train. The air felt colder than I thought it had been when I entered the car, rushing toward me, carrying me to the side slightly so that my course was not straight to the roof, but diagonal. My run up had been enough though. I landed somewhat awkwardly on the roof edge; my ankle throbbing from impact, not broken or twisted, but painful. I doubted I will be able to walk that off very easily, but I hobbled away from the edge so as to allow others to get across.

Two initiates refused to jump. "What will happen to them?" I asked no one in particular.

"They'll become Factionless." A boy beside me answered. The panting boy from before, only now he could catch his breath I took notice of him. He was of medium height and build with long sandy hair and wide grey eyes. He informed me that his name was Jeremy.

"What does that mean? Factionless?" I enquired curiously.

The boy stared as though I was gone out. "They'll be homeless and alone. You should

know this stuff. You should have seen them about the city." And I had. The homeless people in the less well-kept part of town were factionless then. So that is what happens if I do not make it through initiation. Well, I better try damn hard then. I do not want to be homeless and alone in a place I do not know very well. I would not last more than five minutes.

"Everybody listen up." Piper gathered everyone around her without orders. "You lot have gotten here alright, but now you have to use the visitor's entrance. We don't want the factionless knowing how to get in and out of the real one." That seemed fair enough, but I could not locate a door anywhere on this roof.

I did, however, find that behind Piper the roof dropped slightly and revealed a gaping hole around ten feet wide. The only thought to enter my mind at that moment was: what happens when it rains? Other initiates began to notice this hole as well, though their concerns were slightly different to mine.

"We have to go through that?" Screeched an incredulous Candor girl.

Piper rolled her eyes, was she used to this? She must have done a lot of initiations. "Yep, you scared?" She taunted.

Jeremy frowned. "What's down there? Is it a safe landing?"

"Why don't you hurry up and find out?" Piper countered.

The Candor girl began to scream, "They're gonna march us straight to our deaths! They don't even want initiates! We're gonna die!" Even some of the Dauntless-born seemed to be considering the fact that their own faction could be aiming for their demise, their eyes shifting nervously.

I sighed. "Shut up and stop being a bunch of wimps, do you really think they would kill off _all_ the initiates?" A few people nodded. "Ugh. This is ridiculous!" I stepped up to the ledge just before the hole. I took a deep breath to calm myself and faced everyone else who were looking at me as though I had gone completely insane and maybe I had. The only thing that convinced me I had not was the trace of respect in Piper's green orbs. If she did not give the impression that what I was doing was crazy, then it must be what I am supposed to do.

I raised my arm in a mock salute, "So long, losers." I taunted as I leaned backwards, my weight tipping me off-balance and sending me over the ledge and into the hole.

Falling is the strangest sensation you can ever feel and plummeting from a great height is incredible. The air brushes past as though trying to support you, trying to prevent you from going any further. In the darkness of the hole's walls there was no sense of the passage of time; I could have been floating downwards for seconds or years. As soon as I passed into the light everything blurred together and time sped up.

I hit something tough and full of knots. A net. I could feel the fibres cutting into my skin where my over-large t-shirt had ridden up slightly. I realised then that a crowd was gathered around the platform on which the net was just above. Great, now I have to worry about getting off of a net gracefully and without falling over. Not going to happen. I crawled my way to the net's edge and swung a leg over the side. It did not touch the floor. Being short is so much hassle. Bringing the other leg to join it, supporting myself with both arms before I jumped down. And lost my balance.

A hand touched the small of my back and another held my shoulder holding me firmly in place, staying a moment in case I suddenly and inexplicably collapsed. I turned to thank whoever it was and found myself face to chest with the man from yesterday, the one who challenged Eric. "You alright?" He questioned.

"Yeah, thanks," My voice was shaky and I could not truthfully say that if was just an after effect of the fall.

He smirked. "What's your name?"

"Delta."

His lips turned up at one side teasingly, "Like the Greek letter? Weird." I would be mad if I was not slightly dizzy, yet again I am not sure the drop can take full credit for that. "Everyone welcome our first jumper, Delta!" He announced to the crowd whom cheered and clapped as though I were a celebrity. The name-mocker instructed me to stand to a side whilst we waited for the others. It was a good fifteen minutes before Jeremy joined me and a long while after that when the rest had all followed, including Piper who claimed to much prefer the visitor's entrance to the real one. And who was immediately hugged by the name-mocker when she elegantly extricated herself from the net still wearing her heels. A bubble of something akin to jealousy inflated within me, only bursting when Piper also embraced others of her faction.

The initiates were split into groups: the Dauntless-born and the transfers. Though dressed like a Dauntless, aside from the boots, I joined the transfers.

"These will be your groups throughout initiation," explained Piper. "Dauntless will be trained by me, transfers by Four." She indicated the name-mocker.

Seriously his name was Four, as in the number, and he had made fun of me for having a letter as my name. At least letters are supposed to be _in_ names even if they are not actual names, there is no way I would ever name my child after a _number_. That is downright strange. I could feel his eyes on me, those blue balls boring into the side of my face, I hoped he could see how stupid I thought his name was especially after he had ridiculed me. I turned so that I could hold his gaze and he promptly changed his expression from searching to one of stoic indifference. This was going to be fun.

When Piper left with the Dauntless-born initiates, giving me a cheery wave as she passed causing Four to send a befuddled glance my way, Four assembled us all in a line before him. I went to the back, just behind Jeremy. None of the other initiates were staring at me as though I needed to be reminded that I do not belong here anymore, but none of them spoke to me either.

"So I'm guessing you lot will need a tour of this place, so either keep up or get lost. Literally." He grinned at his own joke. "My name is Four and-"

"Your name is a number? Are you kidding me?" The girl from Candor, maybe I would like her after all. His name really was ridiculous, though looking at the way his jaw was set I do not think I will ever tell him that.

"No, I am not and I will be your instructor during initiation. You got a problem with that, initiate?" He challenged.

The girl gave a salute like the one I did earlier, "No, Sir!" She was definitely Dauntless brave. Her dark skin and short spiky hair fit in perfectly with their look and her chocolate eyes screamed thrill-seeker.

Four spun away, ignoring her. Seeing my smirk the girl sidled up next to me. "Maybe it's a phallic reference," She whispered in my ear. It took me a moment to comprehend her meaning. I peeked over at her, thoroughly shocked before we both dissolved into laughter.

"Something funny, initiates?" Four hissed, making his way to the back of the line.

I shook my head, straightening my face, my eyes glued to the ground, suddenly the strange rock of the floor was undeniably fascinating. If only the Candor girl had my sense of staying out of trouble, could she not tell how furious Four was? His voice was like acid. Instead she threw back her shoulders, staring him full in the eye. "I was just saying that maybe it's a reference to your dick."

To his credit, Four did not even flinch, though his cheeks did flush subtly, but I could not tell if that was from embarrassment or fury.

"Listen here, you little smart-mouths," _Hey, she said it was her who made the joke, don__'__t drag me into it just because I laughed! _I would have commented aloud, but his tone clearly conveyed that he was not to be interrupted. "You need to learn when to keep things to yourselves or else you will _not_ last long here. Got it?" Neither of us answered, we were not expected to, Four returned to the head of the group leading us through the darkened tunnels. I strained to remember where every turn could lead, this was going to take a couple of days at least to get used to. Let's just hope I last that long.

The Candor girl remained at my side, after a few turns she slid her hand into mine making me jump a little, I peered up to her. "I'm Alex," She told me.

"Delta," I replied smiling, I was actually making friends - sort of. Four glared back at us, having heard our whispering with what I could only assume were super-human senses and we lapsed back into our silence.

We passed through the Pit, which seemed to me to be an overly large shopping complex consisting of narrow stone paths weaving about in the underground cavern. Four explained that each month each Dauntless was given a certain amount of points depending in their position and those points were spent here. The day had been long and we were all exhausted, even Four seemed tired.

"Now, I'm sure you're all knackered," I assumed that meant tired, "follow me and I'll show you where you'll be staying." Ah, maybe I will get the same room as last night, I would not mind that too much, at least I would not have to share.

Four lead us through a kitchen/living room combo that boasted a T.V. and sofas enough for all ten of us to a long corridor that held an assortment of different doors. I recognised one of them. The door, one from the end of the corridor was an old brown, wooden thing with a silver handle, a little crooked, just like mine from home. Other people were gasping, Alex' hand tightened around mine. "My door," She breathed.

"You may recognise these," Four stated as though bored, "these will be here for the duration of your stay. The bathroom is the door at he end." The corridor ended in a door, I presumed that would be the bathroom. At least there was only one room between mine and the bathroom, I thought absently.

Everyone made their way to their doors, Alex finally releasing my hand. I was rooted to the spot. My room could not be here. My room was destroyed along with the rest of my town. The others went straight in, their yells of delight pervading the air and yet I could not force myself to take the short steps that would lead me to my room. If it was even my old room. I do not know if it being my old room would make things better or worse; on the one hand it would be comforting to have all my possessions around me, but on the other hand it could make everything all the more painful and remind me too much of home and the life I have lost.

I did not even notice Four by my side until he spoke up. "I told them this might freak you out," He said, not looking at me. "We could switch rooms for the night, so you can get used to things here first." He suggested.

I shrugged. "I'm still going to have to go in there eventually." Even to me my voice sounded hollow, dead, a mere shadow of itself. I took a step forward, then another, then another. Four kept in time with me no matter how long I spent lifting my foot closer to the door. It could have been minutes or years, but I got there. I put my hand to the handle, my arm feeling heavier than it ever had before, I could not open it.

"Want me to go in with you?" For a name-mocker he was being remarkably sweet, though he still could not look at me. Maybe he saw this as cowardice, which probably disgusted him.

For a second I considered this, I could show him everything I have from home, I could show him who I am; who I was, I doubt the girl of this room would ever have dreamt of leaping from a moving train or jumping through a mysterious hole in the ground. "I'm not ready to show you who I was," I say, though I am not sure why. He probably would not understand anyway.

He finally raised his eyes to rest on me, as though seeing me for the first time. "Who you were?"

I sighed, how do I explain this simply? "When you lose everything you've ever known, it follows that you will have lost a part of yourself," I struggle, "I can't possibly be the same little girl that lived here."

Four nodded as though he were considering my answer. "Well," he began with a weak smile, "you're definitely not a little girl anymore." He agreed, backing away to the door that separated my room from the bathroom, I did not realise he would be in with us, why did that make me calmer? I found the strength to open my door, the familiar scent of vanilla and cinnamon, my two favourites, washed over me.

I saw Four smile genuinely for the first time ever, it really was a magnificent sight, though I would never tell him that. "Nicely done," he praised, though he probably thought I was being stupid not being able to enter a room. He disappeared into his own bedroom, then his head appeared once more. "Oh, and good work on Eric's jaw, it's a beautiful shade of purple." He laughed with a wink.

I blushed, brighter than ever before, I swear my whole head must have been a rather unattractive magenta. "Thanks," I mumbled, ducking inside the sanctuary of my room. Maybe that was his way of ushering me inside. It had worked.

It was my room. My old room. My pink and black walls with leopard print shapes. My CD stack, towering to the ceiling. My bookshelf from floor to roof, overflowing with books. My wardrobe filled with clothes and shoes of all colours. My bed. My comfy cosy bed. Perhaps I could bare this. It was not too bad, though I purposely let my eyes skim over the pictures of my family and friends that plastered an entire wall with friendly smiles and funny faces, not seeing them, not wanting to remember them just yet.

On my dresser was the one thing I knew I would not have coped without - my iPod. I wasted no time in placing the headphones to my ears as I slunk into my favourite nightwear; a midnight blue silken nightdress with the Cheshire Cat's teeth printed across the middle, it read 'I'm not crazy, my reality is just different than yours' it was my favourite quote and now it seemed more relevant than ever. I climbed into my bed, relishing in the scent of me, the scent of home and fell into blissful oblivion, as though tomorrow I would wake up to find none of his had happened and I really had not fallen down the rabbit hole at all.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this. Please review, I need ideas!**


	4. Cards

Pounding and then my name, two knocks and then my name. It reminded my so much of The Big Bang Theory - 'Knock, knock, Penny! Knock, knock, Penny!' - that I was pulled into wakefulness with a beam. I flung back my bed covers and stumbled to the door, not bothering to pull my dressing gown on. When I opened the door widely, I wished I had.

Four leaned casually against the door frame, fully-dressed in a tight black vest and jeans, "Morning,"

Once again I blushed, realising too late my state of undress, nearly all of my legs were on show, the nightdress only coming down to just below my bum - thank God my legs were newly shaven - and there was rather a lot of cleavage on show. I edged the door closed slightly, hoping he would ignore my all too obvious embarrassment.

"Hi," I muttered. Confused as to why I could only hear snoring from the other initiate's rooms.

Four smirked, apparently he thought it funny that I should have to face him with so much flesh on display. "Just wanted you to know that the bathroom's free, won't be waking the others for twenty minutes so be quick."

I mumbled a thanks and, swinging my dressing gown around myself, hurried to the safety of the bathroom. I could have sworn I heard him chuckle behind me as he padded towards the kitchen.

I showered quickly, using the toiletries provided. I found a toothbrush with my name on it, literally, it was engraved into the purple plastic, each of us had one apparently. On my way out of the bathroom I saw people emerging, all bleary eyed and none ready to interact just yet, some headed straight for the kitchen in search of coffee, others made to beat each other to the newly vacate bathroom. I hurtled back to the safety of my room.

In my room, I dried my hair swiftly and opened my wardrobe, I didn't know what we were to do today so I went for black skinny jeans - my favourite ones which showed off my backside rather well - and a black and grey tank top that clung lightly to my curves. I did not want to seem like I was trying to fit in with the Dauntless too much so once more I donned my luminescent pink boots.

I left the refuge of my bedroom and headed for the kitchen met by Alex and Jeremy, who knew one another from Candor and had saved me a seat at the dinning table, they were all pyjama-clad. They introduced me to four others: Danny, an insanely tall dark-haired boy who expressed a great love of music, though I bet he's never heard of half the music in my CD stack I thought; Glen, a middle height blue-eyed bag of muscles; Andrea, a kind-faced young looking girl; and Jessie a shaved-headed, silver-eyed, skinny model looking girl - who wouldn't stop staring at Four by the fridge making coffee.

"It's strange getting our old rooms here," Danny was saying, "the other factions don't do that, do they?"

"I didn't think so," Alex answered.

Andrea looked to me, "You're from outside, right?" I bobbed my head, this conversation had arrived sooner than I had wanted it to. "Where abouts? How far away is it from here?"

If anyone else had asked, I probably would have walked away, but Andrea had an innocence about her that I could not refuse. "I used to live in a place called Scarborough," I heard myself say. In my peripheral vision I could see Four had given up all attempts of making coffee and was clearly listening intently, though he still had his back to us. "I don't even know where here is, so I can't say how far it is, but I'd say it's probably a fair distance, I mean I seem to be the only one here with an accent." I joked and it was true; everyone else spoke in variations of the same clipped speech, and yet I had, what I thought was, a much more gentle flowing tone.

Everyone nodded as if agreeing. "Will you go back?" Jeremy asked, not implying that he wanted me to leave, more like to judge how much I missed it.

I shrugged. "I can't."

"Why?" Angela posed, worried sounding, her little face scrunched up in torment.

"It doesn't exist anymore. It got… blown up." I informed them in monotone.

Danny looked outraged, "By who?" He demanded.

"The Dauntless."

Alex peered into my face, "Then why did you choose to stay here?"

I put on my most jokily dangerous voice and laughed manically, "To get my revenge!" This got them chuckling, they obviously got my sense of humour then, good, now I don't need to explain it.

Four sat on the table edge in front of me, blocking the others from seeing his face. "Good job Eric isn't here, that could be taken as treason." He warned. Again the others snorted, Four's voice had hinted mockery, yet his eyes told me he was deadly serious; that I shouldn't joke like that again.

I nodded subtly, I could not risk being thrown out for something like this. He removed himself from the table, placing one of the two coffees in his hand in front of me, I thanked him. This earned me a glare from Jessie, I did not know why though, it was just a small gesture and they all had a steaming cup in front of them anyway. Besides, this man could not decide whether he wanted to be nice to me or if he wanted to threaten me.

I shook off the negative vibes from Jessie, ignoring both her and Four and returned to the conversation. No one asked me anymore about home and for that I was grateful. We were speculating what we were going to be made to do today when Four emerged once more from his room.

"Gather round children," he ordered to many protests that we were adults, though I thought all argument proved they were not, "Today we will begin your training so if you remember the way to the training room, be there in ten minutes, if you don't follow me."

I sure as hell didn't know the way, but luckily for me Alex and Jeremy did. They led me away, Danny and Glen following. Andrea would have come too, but Jessie said she didn't want us getting them lost so it was better they stayed with Four, I had a feeling Jessie was not going to let Four out of her sight at all.

Alex and Jeremy had proven to be reliable maps as we were the first to arrive at our destination. That is where my luck ended though, not a moment later than we had arrived did Eric turn up, his bruise still visible. And he was already staring daggers at me. Fabulous, not. Everyone else arrived and Four assembled us into a long line before what seemed like badly drawn targets, each had three circles inside one another, but the circles were wonky and inconsistent from one target to the next. Eric doled out what we would be aiming with: guns.

These were colossal, heavy machines that made my arms ache from the second Eric shoved it into my chest. I staggered backwards with the combined force of Eric and the weight of the gun.

"Now usually Four shows you all what to do with these bad boys," Eric sneered, "but I wanna see what you're made of. Fire as you wish."

Alex and I shared a look, I had no idea how to hold the thing, let alone how to operate it, clearly Alex was the same, we both held the weapons tentatively as though they might fire of their own accord.

Eric snorted, "Bunch of pansy cakes! Just _do _it."

Fair enough, I didn't need telling again, I held the gun with both hands, it was deceptively small for it's weight. I planted my legs shoulder distance away from each other, facing the target, brought both arms before me, keeping the gun as far from my face as possible, my finger at the trigger. The other initiates were blatantly staring, not even bothering to pretend they were going to try too, did I really have to be the first to do everything? I pulled, bracing for the recoil.

And hit the target. Admittedly, it was the second circle not the bulls eye and my arms had been thrown up something rotten, but I had hit it. Eric did not look happy, his scowl stretching the holes of his many piercings. Soon everyone else began to take aim and no one watched me at all.

I took up aim again, straightening my stance when I felt two strong hands pulling at my hips, turning them slightly. The hands emigrated to my arms, making them straighter and locking the elbows. "Helps with the recoil," explained the voice at my ear. Four, who else? I craned my neck to say thanks, but he'd already gone, probably to help someone else. Testing the stance he had created for me, I fired again. This time the bullet found it's home right in the centre of the target. I turned to see if anyone had noticed. Eric had, he looked disgusted and shocked and like I could be a threat to him, which was definitely not good. Alex had too, she was by my side, incoming with a hug, squealing with delight, as I embraced her I saw Four over her shoulder. He seemed somewhat proud - until he caught me peeking over at him, at which point he shifted his attention to Jessie, who appeared only too thrilled to have him position her the way he had me.

Three hours had passed and we were finally dismissed for lunch, my arms throbbing with the now phantom weight of the gun. After lunch we were to begin learning to fight, I was not looking forward to that, our first fight was tomorrow and I could have waited an eternity for it for all I was looking forward to it.

Me, Jeremy and Alex went back to the dorm, scouring the kitchen for something to eat, we made peanut butter sandwiches and sat talking pleasantly whilst everyone else milled about, fretting over the fact that after lunch we would not finish until six. This did not bother me in the slightest, I was just glad to have something to do.

We resumed at one, the fight training was more difficult that the guns had been. I could throw a decent punch and I was quick, but that was it. My kicks sent me off balance and my holds were too weak, as Eric frequently told me as I had to practice on him. Perhaps I could punch him again and get away with it, no chance, I thought, he wants me out and that would give him plenty of reason to make me factionless. My core was not tight enough, my face was unguarded, my stance was wrong, I was too unstable. Streams of criticisms and insults spewed from Eric's lips as I did my best to pretend that the punch bag in front of me was him, picturing my fist slamming once more into that smug face of his, maybe causing a few piercings to tear his skin or rip out completely.

It was the longest five hours of my life, but when we were finally dismissed, Eric's criticisms were becoming fewer, him having to think harder for them.

I headed straight to my room to change from my sweaty clothes, the shower was already occupied so the rest of us had to put clean clothes on without washing, not that it mattered, I felt better having just changed my clothes, even though I would have loved to have a shower. The initiates had separated into groups, some having gone to sit in their rooms tonight, a group of girls discussing the merits of Orlando Bloom and the guys and Alex playing cards with Four. I headed towards the cards.

"Mind if I play?" I asked, plonking myself down on the floor next to them. They were all in chairs at the table, Alex on Jeremy's knee because there were no seats left.

Danny beamed. "Sure, but you'll have to sit on someone's knee to reach the table." He wriggled his brow suggestively.

"I'm alright down here, thanks." I giggled, playfully punching his arm. "What're we playing?"

"You choose," Glen suggested, handing me the deck.

I shuffled the cards thoughtfully, splitting the deck and then arching it back together, there were five of us, what could we play? "Bullshit!"

"Sorry?" Four and Danny questioned in unison.

I snickered at their bemused faces, they had clearly never played this before. "Cheat?" I used the more common name, everyone shook their heads. "I'll teach you then. It's basically a game of deception, Candors should be good at this," I explained the rules, "The first person puts their card down face up, then the next person puts down a card or cards down, face down, that are either higher or lower than the ones before it. If you don't have cards to put down, you lie." I told them, whilst doling out all the cards.

"You lie?" Enquired Alex and I bobbed my head in agreement, "Team Candor for the win!" She cried, high-fiving Jeremy.

I snickered. "Anyway, if you think someone's lying you call 'bullshit', if they were lying they pick up the cards, but if they weren't the person who called it picks them up. The first person to lose all their cards wins. "

"I'm out already then," Glen moaned. Standing up to leave.

"Aw no, come one, at least try it." I pleaded.

"Nah," He yawned, slouching away. "Too tired anyway."

As soon as his door closed I stole his chair, between Four and Danny. "Ready to lose?" I challenged.

Four swept his cards up, "In your dreams."

And we began, laughing loudly whenever someone called 'bullshit', it soon got late, but we did not care, we were having fun. For the first time since my arrival, I felt like I could settle here. It made me all the more desperate to survive initiation.

"Anyone want a drink?" Four asked whilst at the fridge getting himself a beer.

"Beer, please," Called Danny cheekily.

I chuckled, "Me too!"

Four sniggered. "None for you Dan, minors. How old even are you, Delts?"

Delts? That's not even a name, but I guess I did not mind having a nickname, it made me part of the group. "Eighteen," I answered.

Alex laughed, "Seriously, how old are you?"

"Eighteen," I repeated, "I don't look that young, do I?"

"Nah," Jeremy replied, "Only about twelve." He joked.

I pouted, "Thanks, guys." Rolling my eyes at them, I was surprised to see that Four had brought me a beer and the others some sort of juice drink. "Thanks," I told him.

Danny sulked, "Not fair if she gets one, when I can't."

"Dauntless laws, you're still underage." Four informed him.

I childishly stuck my tongue out at Danny in a 'Ha' gesture. "How old are you, then?" I posed to Four.

"Twenty two," He told us.

I frowned, "Bit young for an instructor, isn't it?"

"Not here." He said, effectively shutting down the conversation.

We resumed our game, but soon the others decided they were too tired, also I was winning every round. Even the Candors couldn't tell when I was bluffing. Luckily I was not left on my own.

Four chuckled. "Looks like I'm stuck with the Dwarf,"

"I'd much rather be a Hobbit, they're shorter and less beardy." I complained.

"Okay then, the Hobbit's stuck with me." He stifled a yawn. "Come sit with me," He slurred. He was on his seventh beer.

I pushed him, seeing him sway slightly in his chair, I may have matched him drink for drink. "I already am, stupid."

"No," He argued as though unable to put into words what he meant, or unwilling to say them. "That's not what I meant."

I was heaved up as though I weighed nothing and placed onto his firm lap. "I'll crush you!" I warned. He was, after all, very muscular, but very thin, I was surprised he had not snapped like a twig.

"Don't be stupid." He sniggered his voice low and seductive at this proximity.

I swatted his arm, not playfully like the arm-punch I gave Danny earlier, more like I was being… flirtatious. No, of course I was not, he is my instructor for Christ's sake.

His arms secured me to his chest, probably so I wouldn't hit him. "So, you thinking about running away?" He enquired in a whisper.

"From you or the Dauntless?" I sneered.

"Both."

I shivered. "There's nowhere for me to run to even if I wanted to." I told him truthfully. If I ran from the Dauntless, I would end up factionless, having no home, and I am not even sure I want to run from Dauntless, this is my home now; and as weird and threatening as Four was, I did not want to run from him either. The Dauntless and Four terrified me, but they were new and exciting to me, I think I could be getting addicted. Not good.

Four considered my words carefully, I could sense him turning over every available meaning. "So you don't want to leave." A statement, not a question. I had no idea of whether he was referring to the Dauntless compound or him.

Avoiding his intense study I answered. "No,"

He chuckled, "You're braver than I thought."

I shrugged, "There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, I just don't know which side of it I'm on." And it was true, staying here, with him, could be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever done but also one of the bravest. Who was I kidding; I was being drunk and very, very stupid. Maybe there's bravery in knowing that. He did not answer, he seemed to be analysing every word that has ever left my lips.

"There is indeed," He agreed, "You know, you remind me of someone."

"Hmm?" I wordlessly enquired, "Who?"

He didn't answer. I rested my head upon his chest, to no complaint from him. "If you hadn't been brought here, what would you be doing?"

I shrugged, "I'd be at University still. I was going to be a teacher."

"Really?" He seemed surprised.

"Is it that shocking that I would want to teach people?"

He shook his head, "Maybe not. What subject?"

"English."

"So you must read a lot, yeah?" He asked.

I nodded, "A fair bit, I suppose." I reconsidered. "Maybe more than a bit, I actually need to get myself another bookshelf."

He chuckled, it was nice to talk about things like this, even if I didn't want to discuss too much of it, it hurt too much. I think he must have realised that this was as much detail as I could bare giving just yet, as he lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"What faction were you originally?" I whispered, so low that if he decided not to answer he could pretend he had not heard, and I would let him.

He sighed, the bubble of our flirtation bursting, his arms became loose, though still supporting me upon his lap. I waited for so long that I thought he would simply ignore the question. "Maybe I'll tell you some other time," He finally murmured stoically. "I don't think you'd remember if I told you now, anyway." He joked softly. He was right, I would be lucky to remember any of this; I was no drinker.

"Maybe you're right," I hummed, I could feel myself growing sleepy, but I did not want to move. I knew I should though. Pushing away from his chest, my head drooping, I heaved myself to my feet, his hands steadying me. "I should get to bed," I mumbled, picking my way across the living area, though there were no obstacles. Still, I managed to trip.

Four's arms caged around me before I could hit the ground. Strange, I had not even heard him rise, let alone follow me. I managed a breathless 'thanks'.

Leading me to my door, he laughed in a whisper, "Don't mention it," He stopped to turn the handle, opening the door wide, but did not enter.

He seemed to understand that this was my space and I was still not ready for anyone to intrude it, even this man who I had spent - I don't even know how much - time with curled up in his lap.

"Thank you." He said suddenly. Even without my drunken haze, I was sure I would not have understood why he should be thanking me. I blankly waited for him to continue, and he obliged. "For not running."

I still did not have a clue what he meant, but I sensed he would not disclose his implication even if I questioned him, I knew already that he could be vague like that. "Goodnight, Four," I bid him; he appeared to flinch when I used his name, but said nothing. Be brave, Delta. I leaned up on my toes and pecked him on the cheek. This stunned him.

"Goodnight, Delta." He breathed, unlike me; I could not remember how to draw breath.

That was a mistake; I should never have done that. I ducked into my room, closing the door before either of us could fully recover our wits. I listened intently as he shuffled away from my door, finally exhaling when I heard his shut.


End file.
